This section will feature materials which were presented at international conferences and policy-related documents.
“US-JAPAN Workshop for Decommissioning and Environmental Management” was held on July 17 -18, 2013 in Tokyo, as a part of the US-Japan Bilateral Commission on Civil Nuclear Cooperation, aiming to share latest technology and information, and to utilize these for decontamination, etc.
US and Japanese experts and government officials participated in the Workshop, then shared knowledge and discussed topics such as “Behavior of Cesium in the Environment”, “Stakeholder Communications”, “Environmental Monitoring & Data management” and “Decontamination & Remediation Processes”. In addition, the US Embassy Science Fellows who had been dispatched to the Ministry of the Environment in February-March this year reported their observations and recommendations regarding radiation protection, decontamination, waste management, and environmental monitoring, etc. Future activities based on the US-Japan cooperation were subsequently discussed.
Through the Workshop, the network of researchers and organizations between US and Japan have been promoted, and it was confirmed that further discussions would be constantly conducted on each theme in order to promote decontamination as well as related R&D in Japan.
On January 7, 2013, MOE established Taskforce for Securing Appropriate Decontamination Works to in response to the media reports of inappropriate decontamination works earlier this year. The Taskforce carried out an investigation for fact confirmation, examined preventive measures against further inappropriate decontamination works, and consequently officially announced “Appropriate Decontamination Promotion Program” on January 18.